Ten best Android emulators for PC 2017

Ten best Android emulators for PC 2017

There can be multiple reasons for someone to run Android Emulators on their PC. Emulators, as we all know, gives us this ability to run Android games, apps and other features on PC and Mac computers. Using Android emulators, we can watch and perform all the tasks on a bigger screen. For gamers, the use of a joystick and other gaming hardware is made easy. Android emulators are a great deal for developers, as they get the ability to test their apps before publishing it to the Google Play Store. With all that being said, we are here with the list of 10 best android emulators for PC 2017. Shall we begin?

The number one on or list is the most popular and the most used Android simulator of all times, the Bluestacks android simulator. For a while, the software was somewhat behind the game as compared to their competition. But with the release of Bluestacks 2, they’ve included the latest updates in their emulator. Supports multi-tasking, you can set your location, more features that are required for an optimal gaming experience that was not there in the previous builds have been included. Blustacks comes with an optional $2 per month subscription package.

AMIDuOS is another android simulator software for PC that focusses more on productivity than gaming. There are two separate variants available, one with Lollipop and the other with Jelly Bean versions of Android OS installed which comes with a one-time fixed price of $15 and $10 respectively. As said, the emulator mainly focusses on productivity, but still, the gaming experience is also great. AMIDuOS is a great option for all those who wants to do just basic academic work or assignments and homework. Developers can make use of this emulator for testing their apps before releasing them to the Google Play Store officially.

Andy is a free android emulator capable of running the entire gamut of apps and games made for Android platform. There are though some bugs associated and you might encounter some even during its installation. But for all those who somehow managed to run Andy on their PC’s, you can also root the native Android version installed on the emulator. This all makes it ideal for enhancing the productivity, rather than a gaming experience. No doubt, the emulator handles the Android games well, but there are some installation issues found be many users so far, so gaming is not preferred on Andy.

This another Android emulator is not for consumers but developers. Android Studio’s Emulator is an IDE for android approved and developed by Google. The emulator as said is tedious to install, but once it is installed, it is easier to use. Another cool feature for the Android app and game developer is the ability that Android Studio’s Emulator provides them to create and develop their apps. A powerful tool for app developers but not a great option for consumers and general users.

Droid4X used to be the classiest Android emulator for PC back in days when the concept of Android emulators has been introduced. Droid4X, however, markets itself towards gamers and have a simpler yet intuitive user interface. You can perform productivity stuff if you want to, but we are sceptical about the existence of the emulator itself. Though the website is up and running and the program is still downloadable. But there are no developments and improvements seen in the past days. Droid4X is somewhat buggy and unstable, therefore use it with caution.

So, this one is for the gamers out there who wants to play all of their favourite games on a larger screen. KoPlayer emulator provides the best gaming experience in the market. You can also record and upload the gameplay. The key mapping features let you emulate gaming controller with your PC’s keyboard. The only downside is that KoPlayer has lots of bugs, but don’t worry this mustn’t prevent you from giving this emulator a chance.

Genymotion is more focused towards the usability by the developers for testing and modifying their apps and games without having to own an Android smartphone. Genymotion allows you to customise and set up the emulator for a variety f devices with several versions of Android installed to help suit your needs. You can switch between devices, for instance, you can switch from a Samsung Galaxy S6 running on Android Marshmallow to a Nexus One device running KitKat Android platform. This enables you as a developer to test your apps and games on multiple platforms of Android.

MEmu gives you the support to install Android Jelly Bean, KitKat and even Lollipop. Usable for both consumer and developer’s purposes and fulfil all the basic criterions. One of the biggest plus points of MEmu is that it can run on any machine running on AMD and Intel Chipsets. You also get the ability to run multiple instances at once. There is also built-in support for almost all games and apps, though the MEmu Android emulator is fairly meant for its productivity.

The Nox Android simulator is just like Bluestacks. The Nox player includes utilities and additions that are meant specifically for gamers. Also, you get the support for gaming controllers so that you can make use of them to play your favourite games. You can also simulate the ‘swipe’ gesture and make use of them on your physical keyboards and joysticks if you happen to have one already. And another great thing about Nox is that it is available for free.

Remix OS Player is so far the latest of all and has been released last year via its Beta distribution. The Remix OS Player can also be installed as a standalone operating system side-by-side on your primary computer. The emulator comes installed with Android Marshmallow out of the box, and unfortunately, there is no support for the ones who’ve AMD CPUs.

Author Bio:

Sejal Parmar loves to explore the newly released Apps & Games. She blogs at Rule.FM and writes about latest Android Apps & Games.